Our efforts to impose rest on ourselves often fail.  That’s because the problem is not one of having the right tools to get things done, avoid procrastination, etc.  We can use these things, but it really starts with our hearts – and there is a problem in our hearts called sin – the consequence of our rebellion against God.  Everything we do – work and rest, and the rhythm of Sabbath rest, takes on a selfish tinge as a result.

In the 4th Century a Christian leader named Augustine wrote, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

It’s hard work being separated from God.  God said it would be – sin meant we would have to toil to overcome thorny ground and survive.  But we can find our rest in God.  In Jesus, we have access to that rest once again, even though we opted out in sin.  Jesus did the ultimate work of closing the separation between us and God.

We can once again join him in building his kingdom, in his creative work.  We do this using the gifts he’s given us to work to build a better society, life-giving technology, strong families, new infrastructure and so on.  Whatever is consistent with his plan and purpose.

And we can also rest in him, knowing that it’s his work we help with, and not our work to force by our sheer act of will.  We can find deep satisfaction in knowing God is God, and invites us to work with him, rather than against him or instead of him.  This says it nicely:

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.  (Hebrews 4:9-10 ESV)

It’s in knowing God is God, and we are not, that we find rest.

Said another way: It’s in knowing God, through Jesus’ work on the cross, that we find rest for our souls.

Challnege: Make a list of the excuses and reasons you’ve used to avoid rest.  Pray about each one of these and turn them over to God in trust.

Ryan Sim - May 23, 2013

Thursday- Act On It - Priorities

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24 ESV) Illustrate with two cups (money, God) beside each other. Can only fill one. Remember Monday – I asked you to list your priorities in order. One per rank, no ties. Illustrated with stacked cups. Still can only fill one. And money isn’t the only thing we can prioritize in life, it’s just one of the most common, and Jesus said it was one of the most seductive challengers to God’s place in our lives. Almost effortlessly it is able to lure us into its sphere of influence. When we grow from dependent children into adults, before we know it, we are living lives in its service. It calls us, it drives us, it threatens us, it rewards us. We don’t know if we have enough here, too much there, need to make more, invest more or borrow more. Money is a deep rooted power. It reaches to the very centre of who we are and what we live for – the heart and eye we spoke of yesterday. Jesus ascribed to money almost ultimate power. “No one” he said “can serve two masters, one cannot serve God and money.” You can only serve one master faithfully. This isn’t about taking on two jobs – he deliberately uses the language of slavery from his culture – where people sold themselves, in entirety, to pay off a debt – and could naturally not sell a second “self” to someone else. Jesus says money has that kind of demand on our lives – it is the most likely thing to challenge God in our lives. The point he was leading to was this: You cannot serve both God and money! If God and the vision of God’s reign is not the ultimate focus of our lives, something else will be. For many of us the something else will be money in its various forms. Money has a power all of its own. It has the power to take the very place of God in our lives. Money can lure us into its service. But putting God as our first priority doesn’t mean we deny our children, spouses, and other good things in our lives. God made them, said they were good. This is not an either/or. God wants to fill every area of our lives with his love, his power, his leadership. Illustrated with four cups on level 1, and a full God cup on level 2. Pouring water into God’s cup overflows into the others. When we start to open ourselves to God, welcoming the reality that he poured himself out for us by dying on the cross, we quickly find he pours out into all areas of our lives, and then into others. People who give of their time in service of others will tell you time and time again how incredibly fulfilling it is…that happiness doesn’t come from wealth, financial or otherwise, but rather because they have handed over all areas of their lives to God’s care as Lord. They are able to be contented and happy in all things, and that is a kind of wealth in itself that overflows into all area of life. Challenge: Take another look at your list of priorities from Monday. What does Jesus’ teaching in the sermon on the mount say to you about each of these? Have any of them been prioritized over God’s will? IF so, ask God to be Lord over, and pour into that area of your life.

Related Topics: Money, Priorities | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

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